Saramago courted controversy throughout his life, both in his political views and literary themes. He was an unabashed communist and atheist who once compared Israelâ€™s treatment of Palestinians to the Holocaust.

His novel, The Gospel According to Jesus Christ, outraged many in the Catholic community for its representation of Jesus as a flawed human being who apologized to humanity for God’s sins while he was being crucified. The novel was blocked from contention for the European Literary Prize in 1992 by the Portuguese government. Saramago responded to this censorship of his work by moving to the Spanish Canary Islands, where he lived until his death.

Blindness received mixed reviews from critics and was condemned by several organizations representing the blind community. The American Council of the Blind said the film was deplorable for portraying blind people “like uncivilized, animalized creatures.” Saramago responded to the controversy by stating: “Stupidity doesn’t choose between the blind and the non-blind.”